Redeemer and Destroyer
by Raziel365
Summary: In the middle of the Fourth Grail War, a voice speaks towards two men, who will, in turn, change the future in a way neither of them could have foreseen.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone, raziel365 here, it has been a long time since I wrote... yeah, an awful long time, anyway, while I'm revising my old stories, I'm writing this fic as a way to get back in shape, I hope you enjoy and/or review; criticism is also welcome, so long its constructive; on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything nor anyone, all characters are owned by Type-Moon.

* * *

Chapter 1: The call of the Ruler

A cathedral, ancient, gothic by its looks, was the place where two men were, by the lighting it was around noon, filling the interior with light through its windows, allowing the ones inside of it to have a good look of each other, taking away any form of deceit in ther stance.

One shared by them: a killing stance, not broken by any of the lesser movements of either, keeping their attention on each other.

One of the man was clothed in red, his clothes denouting his status as a high-standing person, in one of his hands were two red marks, each part of the same pattern; his other hand was holding a scepter, slender, black in color save for the ruby at the top end of it, which, if someone looked carefully, would see a light akin to a flame inside the gem.

If one could see beneath his suit, one would notice the glowing marks on his left arm.

His blue eyes were similar to his counterpart, denoting the same calculative gaze, the equal coldness, efficiency, and most often, ruthlessness of each.

The other man wore a dark suit, austere, practical; on his right hand he had two red marks, similar to his opposite, yet what each hand holded was something that to many of the people that belong to the secret society that were the magi would find below them, if not heretical.

Guns, both abnormal, a Calico submachine gun in his left and a Thompson Contender in his right, however, the Contender was modified to fire the most powerful shot the assassin had, a secret to which some users of magic had fallen to when facing him.

As such was the situation between the masters of the sword and the bow.

Kiritsugu Emiya and Tokiomi Tohsaka, the Magus Killer and the head of the Tohsaka family; if one would look simply they would see two similar persons, to those who knew them, thier goals were diametrically opposite.

They were not alone however.

A woman stood in the middle of the altar, bathed in light that entered inside the holy recint, wearing armor and clothes that were meant for war with grace and serenity, and with those two, she walked between the two masters.

"You summoned us" said the black magus in a emotionless tone, not betraying his hidden thoughts or readiness to act should any of the two made a move; Tokiomi only watched the woman carefully, his crest still latent.

"That is correct" replied the calm woman "Time however is short so this meeting must be done with haste".

"Who are you?"

"I am the conciousness that protects the Grail from being tempered with, the guardian that defends it from external corruption" she answered not losing her grace "Servant Ruler".

"How, and why you called us here?" the question was spoken this by Tokiomi.

The now identified Servant only spared a short glance to the red magus before answering.

"By use of the command spells, you are tied, in a minor way, to the power of the Grail, using that connection I'm able to manifest in the subconciousness of you both" her face hardened for the first time since they saw her.

"The Grail awakened me due to the existence of a Servant that would have endangered the ritual itself"

"_Caster"_ Kiritsugu was not that surprised for such a reason, the Servant himself, who was identified as Gilles de Rais, was a murderous psychopath who took pleasure in his sick and twisted experiments on other people.

His master had been a person just as twisted and repulsive, encouraging and participating in the murders and tortures his Servant did.

Kiritsugu took a guess at the expression of the young woman and, after assessing his surroundings and through his knowledge of the world, he deducted her identity.

"_Joan de Arc, maid of Orleans" _ it would explain the pain in her expression, she herself had known the man and died before he became a monster, the fact that she was a Servant was lest surprising if one knew of her legend.

That however was not the only reason of her serious expression, for the next words she spoke bore a weight none of the two imagined.

"The reason for my call...is the corruption of the system that is the Grail". The last words were spoken with graveness and, if one listened well, anger and grief.

At those last words, the two man lost their composture, how could they not? The implications of her words resonated inside the minds of the magi. If the grail was corrupted, then so it was its wish granting mystery, the goal of the war, and the reason for the death of so many.

In theory, the wish granting mystery would be able to grant any wish to the one it deemed worthy, for magi in general, this meant a way to achieve the Third Magic and reach Akasha, but if the grail was corrupted...

"_This cannot be... THIS CANNOT BE!"_ Kiritsugu raged, his mind refusing to believe the words of Ruler; why had he killed so many people for? For what reason had he done so many sacrifices? He didn't give a damn for Akasha, he only wished for a world where he didn't have to kill the less to save the many, to eliminate the conflict that always compained humanity, to be able to save everyone, but he needed a miracle to reach his wish.

"That's impossible! you yourself said it, you protect the grail from external corruption, the system can't be corrupted!" the Magus Killer said with impassiveness in his words, surprising Tokiomi by his emotion.

Tokiomi however had a numbling guess as to what had happened to the grail: in his research and preparations he had read the documents and chronicles regarding the previous grail wars, most of them were nil save for the ones regarding the Third, which were incomplete; in that War, his family had defeated the Edelfeth, whose use of their dual crest enabled a pair of sisters to fight with two aspects of the same servant.

And, outside the knowledge of many, one of the Edelfeth sisters married the Tohsaka family, thus giving them inheritance to their power regarding gem magic and the Gandr curse.

Through that shared knowledge, he stumbled across some obscure notes inside of his library and remembered something he read amongst the notes he found.

"_...the Third War however had no Berserker, instead, the Einzbern, pushed the system beyond its original parameters and summoned a servant which they hoped would gain them victory... the servant's name eludes my knowledge, however, I learned of his class before his early death, it was..."_

"_Avenger" _Yes, that was the name he read and remembered, however that alone didn't explained everything, an anomaly as such could be created if the one who did the summoning knew how to alter the ritual to their favor, a knowledge that the Einzbern, creators of the Heaven's Feel system_,_ undoubtly had.

"_What altered the system so much?"_

"Angra Mainyu" Asnwered the maiden, this time, gaining the full attention of the two "He is the reason of the corruption".

"...The god of all the evils in the world..." finished Kiritsugu, this time his shock was more notorious; he himself had read the archives of the Einzbern regarding the previous wars and found that name, hidden as a foot note in comparison to anything else he had read; he investigated and learned for that reason of the Zoroastrian identity that made that religion being considered as being duotheist to an extent.

That, and at some point, one of the persons he killed had called him so before his death, the irony was not lost to him.

"...he was summoned before... in the Third War" Tokiomi understood with clarity now what had happened, if such creature had been summoned, it would return to the grail as it required the death of the seven servants to complete itself, if that entity entered the Grail...

"The Grail was corrupted by within after his death" The Servant continued.

None of the two knew what to do now, the shock of such information had unsettled them deeply. What to do? If the information that Ruler was giving was correct, then the Grail had to be destroyed, yet that meant destroying the leylines that provided the prana for the ritual in order to ensure that it wouldn't be able to be perfomed again. That itself meant bombing various places in the city which, if done wrong, would cut the life that was provided to Fuyuki, killing the city.

Otherwise, they would have to, somehow, reach the leylines themselves to be able to temper with the Greater Grial and dismantle it, something none of the two could do since they lacked the knowledge to manipulate the leylines, let alone dismantle the Greater Grial during the war.

However, one of the two managed to regain his stand, his eyes still with the determination that had driven him before, he knew where he could find the information to do something.

The system, in response to the anomaly that was the presence of Angra Mainyu, had become a monkey paw to respond to the evil it had inside, something that couldn't be cleansed by normal means, let alone be released to the world.

Unless...

"What more do you need to tell us?" The magus killer asked the servant to prepare himself to what was to come, giving a look to Tokiomi; he needed him in this, as he was the only magus he could count in.

The man in red spared a look to his counterpart before nodding in agreement.

The servant looked them before she spoke.

"..."

* * *

Kiristugu opened his eyes inside of the hotel he was staying in, there was no light inside the room yet.

As he looked at the sky he noticed that it was probably was around 4 or 5 in the morning, he turned to his right to see his partner and assistant, Maiya, still asleep.

He stood up from his bed and prepared himself, if the plan he had come up with could be done, there was a chance that the Grail could be tempered with.

That was all he needed to act.

* * *

"Kirei... are you loyal to me?"

The priest was caught out of guard by the question of his mentor, who was drinking his cup of tea.

"Of course, my mentor."

Tokiomi only looked at him for a moment with a neutral expression, before he smiled, his confidence in him shining again.

"Then, can I entrust you with a mission?"

Kirei Kotomine was surprised by the behaviour of his teacher, never had he seen him act like this, yet, he needed to still have his trust, and that meant pushing his questions aside until he was in a safe position.

"But of course, my teacher"

Tokiomi then placed his cup in its plate and stood up from his chair, facing his student with a serene expression.

"I need you to go to the Matou mansion"

* * *

There goes the first chapter; its the first time I write something that's not Evangelion, so I hope I have not go OOC with any of them.

I admit that I was inspired to write a Fate story after reading "From Fake Dreams", which I recommend you to read, however, I haven't had the chance to read Fate/Apocrypha, so I don't know if Joan was in-character or not.

As always, reviews are welcome and see you soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, Raziel365 here, this chapter was actually going to be much longer than I thought, but then I guessed the pacing would be off and I don't want this to seem rushed.

As I said before, criticism is most welcome, now on with the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, If I did, Unlimited Blade Works would continue airing instead of being in hiatus till April of next year.

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Chapter 2: Severing and Binding

Tokiomi prepared himself to leave his house, a short while had passed after he had sent Kirei in a task to the manor of the Matou.

He had a place that he had to go with haste, if anything, it would be the top priority, afterwards he would meet his... "colleague" to discuss their preparations for the next days, if Kirei succeded in his mission, they would be able to make some progress with respect of the Grail.

"Huh...you are going to actually do something this time, Tokiomi?" such were the words of the golden Servant that resided inside the manor of the Tohsaka, the blonde red eyed man had, and was, watching the head of the Tohsaka with minor curiosity.

"It is a neccesity I need to do my lord, its something not worth of your attention" Tokiomi himself had at one point thought that the Servant could be controled, however, since the battle against Bluebeard, that illusion began to fade.

His own demeanor and arrogance had made it impossible for him to involve him in direct combat against Caster, prefering to watch the actions of the other Servants and Masters.

The attitude and words of the King of Heroes towards him were, to say the least, filled most often with annoyance or boredom, as much as he tried to play along with him, he found himself with the knowledge that he didn't had the respect of the Servant.

Therefore, he himself didn't have, quite possibly, the loyalty of Archer in this War.

"Not much that you do was worth of it anyway... still, for what had you sent your student to the territory of another magus, I thought you knew how to take care of your own Tokiomi"

Tokiomi mostly trusted Kirei, the Executor had proven himself as a powerful ally and liason in the fights that he had fought or the missions he had tasked him with; by the actions and behaviour of Gilgamesh, especially his interest in Kotomine, the faith he had had eroded to an extent, his last words confirmed that the king took a liking to his student.

"He's acting as a delegator of confidence to ensure the alliance that the Tohsaka have with the Matou, I cannot imagine anyone else to trust something of such importance." that itself wasn't a lie, the Executor was the only one that he could possibly get inside of the manor by peaceful means, and the only one who could find what he wanted to find.

Or see what he needed to see inside of that mansion.

"_Can't you see what Sakura is suffering!?"_

"_I cannot forgive you!"_

"_I hate you Tokiomi!...Zouken!"_

He had trusted, at some point, the patriach of the Matou, the former Makiri, with the education and teaching of his daughter, in hopes of cementing his alliance with them and, mostly, to ensure that Sakura would be able to succeed as an independent magus, outside of the shadow, or rivalry, of her older sister.

He had also known Kariya to an extent before, and mostly, tried to comprehend his actions: running away from his family despite being the only one who could inherit their craft, rejecting all of the works of his forefathers was something Tokiomi had repudiated before, in turn, he began to harbor a negative opinion of the man; truly, only an ungrateful person would turn against everything his family, his own blood stood for.

He wasn't blind by hatred however.

To say that he hadn't noticed Kariya's state would be a lie, he was infected with insects, a strange kind of familiars that seemed to supply him with the ability to properly fight magic beings by acting as quickwork circuits, in exchange, he guessed, he was being eaten from the inside by those insects in order to supply them power.

The fact that he was a master only implied that his condition was critical and painful, if not outright terminal, given that the only Servant he could be master of was Berserker would probably make his condition even more grim, that class was known for requiring a high supply of prana from their masters.

If such a thing were to happen to Sakura...

"Very well, I hope that whatever thing you have in mind can at least bring me some entertainment." with those words, the King of Heroes faded in a golden dust, his master looking behind of his shoulder for a moment before resuming his current moves.

The binding of one to another, such was the basic principle of the water aligned arts of the Makiri household, however, the arts of binding could be interpretated in many ways, some benevolent, and others, more malicious or destructive.

In a way, Kariya's affliction was a reflection of the worst kinds of magic one could do with such principle.

"I'm leaving Aoi"

His wife, a beautiful woman with dark green hair, went to meet him and kissed him with a smile on her face.

"Be safe, my dear"

Tokiomi returned the gesture, also with a loving smile on his face before leaving, with all the love and joy his wife and family had brought to him, he considered himself a person with luck, not just as a magus, but as a father and husband.

His face turned dark as his mind replayed Kariya's accusations.

He finally looked at his house before leaving; he had told Aoi to take Rin away for a walk around the city once she went out of school, he couldn't allow his family to be involved on the events that would happen tonight.

With that last thought, the master of Archer left the Tohsaka estate.

* * *

Kiritsugu was driving to a special location, the chosen place for the rendezvous with his ally; if their plans were to succeed, they would need to have a higher arsenal of choices for the events that were to happen tonight and tomorrow.

"Maiya, what is the status of the master of Lancer?"

"He and his wife are still on the run, I'm still tracking them; its most probable that the woman is now the master of Lancer" The words of his partner were said with neutral emotion through the headphone.

"What about the masters of Rider and Berserker?"

"The kid hasn't made any move from the house he's staying in nor done anything suspicious, the other master is somewhere in the streets, most likely of the Shinto district."

By phone, the Magus Killer was already making preparations for the events of the night, which weren't that different from the plans he had already made before for this situation; Kiritsugu was aproaching the church of Fuyuki, house of the supervisor of the Grail ritual and the representative of the Church, there, he would make his first move of the other plan he had.

"Should I give priority to the master of Lancer?"

"...no, keep looking for the master of Berserker, afterwards, find the Archibalds, I already told you how to deal with the woman Maiya, contact me once that she's in your custody."

"...understood"

Kiritsugu parked the car and got off, walking inside the holy recint that was the church, there he saw the person he needed to meet first.

Risei Kotomine, the supervisor of the Fourth Grail War.

"Church representative! I'm here to reclaim the command seals for my Servant's deeds!"

With this declaration, the old man looked up from his bible, with a moderate amount of surprise on his face.

"The master of Saber I guess, it's the first time I have the chance to meet you" he spoke with a cordial tone to the Magus Killer.

His expression was all the answer the priest needed to understand the man wasn't here for small talk, with a clearing of his throat he aproached the man.

"Very well, extend your hand, master of Saber"

He did as he was asked, looking as the old man pushed inside his sleeves and revealed his arm, covered by various red marks, a glow of light was all he saw before he saw his third seal back in his place, completing the set he originally had.

With no other word, Kiritsugu left the church, choosing to look around the graveyard of the church, he was honestly surprised to find various tombs with foreign names, something he hadn't expect to find in a city like Fuyuki, even though the situation in which he was gave more the reason for this kind of tombs.

"Around here is the grave of my mother".

The master of Saber turned around to find the master of Archer in front of another tomb, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, he saw how he carefully laid the flowers in front of the tomb while he walked towards his direction.

"My assistant is already looking for the master of Berserker, what about yours?"

"I sent him to the mansion of the Matou, he should be able to find what we are looking for."

He knew who he was talking about, Kirei Kotomine; involving the Executor in their plans, no matter how small role he had, was something Kiritsugu despised, the man was impredictable, dangerous and , if his guess was right, he would try to fight him alone even if it meant betraying Tokiomi; all said, he couldn't deny that the priest was the only one who could properly enter the residence without arising much suspiction of its inhabitants.

"Anyone that lives inside there?"

"Only four that I know: Byakuya, Shinji, Sakura...and Zouken."

Kiritsugu flinched at the name: Zouken Matou or, as he used to call himself, Zouken Makiri was someone who he had hoped to never have to come across; one of the creators of the Heaven's Feel, his age had done nothing against his magical power, not to mention his cunningness, if anything, his pitiful soul was the one thing that betrayed his true age, rotten and mangled after evading death for so long.

What put him in edge however was his magic craft: in all of his works or hunts against various monsters or vampires, he had always fought against ghouls and familiars, his worst of such work was the one in which his foster mother, comrade and friend, Natalia, had died.

The vampire she had fought against had managed to use bees as familiars, and with them, he had infected everyone inside of the plane she was, forcing him to destroy it lest that it landed and caused an outbreak.

Zouken was an insect user, worse than that, he used the principles of binding of the Makiri to bind himself to his own familiars, making him one of the most difficult persons to kill in his life: so long his familiars existed, his soul would still be anchored to the world.

"Out of the four, only him should be a problem for us, Sakura is still young and Byakuya has no circuits of his own." Tokiomi continued with a solemn tone, the fact that he was the only magus that could fight against them was little comfort for the Magus Killer.

Any response that Kiritsugu had was stopped by the ringing of his cellphone, he briefly excused in front of the red magus, whose expression was a mixture of impatience, disbelief and, he didn't knew if he was right, curiosity at the device he had in his hands.

"I found the master of Berserker, he's staying inside an abandoned lot inside the Shinto district, the building is two streets south of the Civic Center and one street westwards."

"Understood Maiya, continue with the search of the Archibalds...and thank you."

For a moment, Kiristugu thought that the line had went dead, but before he could end the call an answer came to him.

"...don't mind it Kiritsugu."

After finishing his call, a small smile on his face, he turned back to Tokiomi, his look turned serious, speaking all the weight he needed it to have, the Tohsaka elder understood the gesture.

"I will encharge of Kariya, the master of Lancer is your prey."

With a nod of acknowledgement, Kiritsugu left towards his car, just before he reached beyond his range of hearing, he heard some words.

"Good luck, Emiya"

"...Likewise."

* * *

Kirei was not a man that could be easily understood: he had always lived a life without feeling the emotions that were natural to other people and could only find pleasure in the pain of other; and yet, he still strove to do the right thing, following the teachings of his father, hoping he would find the answer to his dillema, he had once a wife and a child, however her wife killed herself in her last days of her disease to prove him he still had compassion, that he was still human, only for him to regret not killing her himself, not her death.

After she died, he found himself unable to take care of his own daughter, choosing to follow the path of the priesthood in order the find the answers he had; finally, ending in the midst of the struggle that was the Grail War, in which his true self, as the king of Uruk said, would be revealed. While he didn't believed the words of his wife before, after meeting the abomination that was Zouken Matou, some of her words resonated as he found a small answer in the oceans of his questions.

He was ''not'' that monster, his pleasure might the the affliction of others yet the actions of the old magi were repulsive: he saw what he had done to the girl, understood how he did it without even asking and found himself with nothing more but disgust at the actions of the old beast, just staring at the blasphemous things he had done to himself to escape from death nearly made him throw up in the spot.

Why he was still alive was something that eluded him, but if his intuition told him something it was that that _thing _wouldn't have much more time in this world.

"You seem more emotional than before Kirei"

The words of Gilgamesh were spoken with mild amusement, the priest had, somehow, grown accustomed to play the fool for the court of two; he looked at the king before continuing his preparations.

"I have found an answer to a question that I had of myself."

"Ohh, but I wonder if that answer is enough for someone like you."

The tone of the Servant carried curiosity in his words with a hint of satisfaction and expectation. The Executor exchange briefly a look before continuing.

"I admit I have not reached the answers I had seeked for long, however this is a step towards finding them."

"Regardless of the fate of your master? as much as I have noticed, he seems to have lost trust on you."

Indeed, Kirei had read through the acts of Tokiomi and understood that, while he had a high amount of trust, it was lesser than before.

"My master has always been generous..." Tokiomi had been a kind master in his learnings, granting him more trust than what he had imagined a normal magus would give, still...

"But if his wishes drive me away from the Grail...I will kill him and continue my search."

Silence pervaded the room, broken slightly by a chuckle, then laughter.

"A good answer indeed, as long as your search continues I guess I will still able to entertain myself Kirei, I have high expectations of you".

With those last words, the first Heroic Spirit faded in a golden dust; Kirei went towards the speaker of the house, his master waiting on the other side of the line.

"Did you find it Kirei?"

"Indeed my mentor, it is inside the eldest sector of the room, to the furthest left of the mansion."

That was not a lie, but he did left out that the artifacts he had looked for had prana of their own, most likely due to a curse meant to injure anyone who used them. Nothing unexpected of the possesions of magi in general.

"Well done Kirei...how is the condition of the girl?"

That was the one question Kirei had expected the least from his master, even if he knew him to hold his family in his utmost priorities, he never expected to listen to such a question, after all, the adoption of his younger daughter had been an affair between magus families.

He could simply lie he realized, he had his masters trust, he would believe him, even if he eventually found out, he probably would have betrayed him long before he could act, he could just lie to him.

"I don't have words for her state, my mentor: she's not infected by any being but her body has been defiled, by magical means if I'm right, her psyche is at the edge for the conditions she is subjected".

He swore he could feel the rage of his mentor through the speaker, it was the first time he had ever felt such a killing intent from his master.

"...Kirei, return to the church, I will take care of this matter, I'll contact you after this is settled." As much as Tokiomi tried to compose his tone, the layers of anger beneath his voice could be heard.

"Understood, my mentor." As the connection faded, Kirei analized the possible scenario that would play out: he knew that whatever thing that his master had planned to deal with Zouken would be extremely painful given the modifications the elder did to himself and the nature of his own type of binding.

Kirei almost laughed at the situation: for the first time, his own twisted nature would be satisfied in accordance to his moral code, never before had such a thing happened during his training and job as Executor. He would enjoy this moment for all of his life.

And just like his distortion, all for a reason he didn't understood fully.

"_To think that such a thing would be brought by something like a book, truly laughable."_

* * *

Somewhere in the Shinto district, a pair was walking through the park near the Civic Center. The sky was now red, losing light as the night neared.

"WOAH! I didn't knew that walking around could be so tiring mother!" said the brunette of the pair, Rin Tohsaka, with a happy expression in her face.

Her mother Aoi Tohsaka, only looked at her with a tender smile as she walked besides her.

"Don't worry Rin, we are returning soon."

Her words made the young Tohsaka to frown, losing some of her previous cheer.

"Ummm, can't I return home now?"

As it was now, Rin was staying in the house of the Zenjo, her maternal grandparents, she didn't knew what her father was doing, but she knew it was really dangerous.

"No my dear, you have to stay in the house of your grandparents until your father's work is over."

She remembered that time when she went to find her friend Kotone, she had eventually found a creepy man with a magical bracelet that was luring all of the kids of her age, she had never been that scared before.

She still carried her compass with her in case of anything that happened, but she understood that whatever her father was doing was far beyond her scope.

"Weeelll, but walking all the way from here to there is a long...way." The girl allowed her words to die out as she looked around the park and a realization hit her.

"Where are we?"

While they were chatting, they had lost track of their trail and now they were well inside of the park; Rin began to run around, trying without success to find something to guide her and her mother, she was so focused on the task that she didn't noticed when she ran into someone.

"Ooof, careful!" Rin said as she tried to get up from the grass, the other person was already up to its feet.

That person was, coincidentially, a boy of her age.

"I'm sorry, let me help you!" The girl finally took a look at the boy, he had golden eyes and short red hair, his face seemed honest when he apologised and gave her his hand to lift herself.

"_Hold on Rin, focus here" _She said to herself as she fought a blush and recovered her focus, she looked at the boy, who seemed puzzled by her behaviour and asked him.

"Hey, do you know how to get to this avenue?"

His face went from confused to understanding before he smiled. Aoi had already caught up to the two childs but choose to stay quiet, a small smirk in her face.

"Oh, you just have to walk from here a bit more and turn left a little later and..." The boy began to make some gestures with his arms and hands until he realized that the wierd look that the girl was giving him meant that she wasn't understanding him.

"I know! Let me guide you!" His enthusiasm was something that was shared by Rin, it was definitely better to have someone as a guide than simply being given directions.

The mother tried to reason with the boy, still with a smile, knowing how would his mother feel if the roles were inversed. "Thank you boy, but we wouldn't want to bother you."

The boy however seemed intent on helping them out. "Don't worry, I live close from here!"

Before Aoi could reply, another voice in the distance could be heard, it seemed to be approaching. "Shirou! What are you doing?!" A woman with long, brown hair and chestnut eyes came close to the boy.

"Mom! I'm helping someone here!" The boy began to speak with a cheerful face as the woman finally arrived to the trio in the park, she inmediatly spoke to Aoi with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, my son can be a bit enthusiastic." The mother spoke with a tone that implied this wasn't the first time her son had done something like this.

Aoi quickly sympathized with the other woman since she herself had a strong willed daugther. "No, no, your son is a really good boy." The Tohsaka mother replied with a truthful tone.

"They need to get to the station and I wanted to guide them!" the red head interviened in their conversation with the same energetic attitude.

"If its the station, I can give you directions" The mother of the boy spoke with a gentle tone to the woman and her daughter, Aoi bowed her head in gratitute.

"Thank you, I apologise for the problems we are causing you."

"Why don't we go together?" Shirou asked with an innocent smile to the two mothers, they couldn't find an answer while facing such an expression.

This time, Rin, who had stayed quiet so far, spoke in agreement with the boy. "Yeah, father says that its a gentleman's duty to escort a lady." She finished with a determinated tone. At this, the elder women looked at each other and agreed to go together to the station, the children were happy with their approval.

Soon enough, the two mothers were platicating between themselves as if they were old friends while the two kids were speaking and playing with each other.

"I forgot to ask, what is your name?" The boy with red hair asked with some shame after leaving out such an important detail.

The girl merely grinned and gained an air of confidence and pride as she spoke her name "Rin, Rin Tohsaka, and you?"

The boy blushed slightly before he gave a shy smile to the girl as he replied.

"Shirou, Shirou Takeya."

* * *

I gave Shirou a last name.

I gave him a last name, I think this is somewhat heresy, right?Most of the fanfics I have read never try or bother to do so. A shame actually, there are many possibilities to be explored by doing that.

Well, aside from that, his last name actually has a meaning in this story, I consider it a minor reference to Fate/Apocrypha; since I'm portraying him before the fire, there's a high chance I will include someone that many people might know.

I'm not telling who because it's a spoiler to that other story.

I have yet to decide on which name to give to Shirou's mother and father, any suggestion is welcome.

Moving on, I hope I'm not making Kiritsugu or Tokiomi stray from their original character in Fate/Zero, mainly Kiritsugu; make no mistake, he's still the Magus Killer and is as manipulative as before, but I'm guessing that he would tone down his ruthlessness now that he knows the grail won't grant his wish.

With respect of Tokiomi, I read somewhere that he's not as cold as the common magi because Rin inherited her kindness from him, if anything I assume that he just has the prideful mindset that other magus have.

Then there is Kirei, he's not yet a villian who makes people suffer for his own amusement but he's almost there, he still needs the trigger for that change thought.

That's it for now, I hope you can guess to who I refer to with the surname I gave to Shirou, well, see you next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, Raziel365 here, I apologise if the previous chapters felt slow, however, the plans that Kiritsugu and Tokiomi started will begin to unfold, as will many things they haven't taken account for; anyway, the first part of this chapter was originally part of the last one, but then I thought better about the pacing of the story and passed it here, you will understand once you read.

To respond to anon-kun's review, as far as its shown (at least in the Unlimited Blade Works anime) Shirou's name is the only thing he remembers from before the fire, every other memory he had was destroyed in the fire.

On with the show.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; I regret nothing (fanfic wise, life wise...well).

* * *

"Shirou! go to your room, its time to sleep."

"Ok Mom, good night Mom, good night Dad"

"Keep an eye on your little sister"

"No need to ask, Dad"

"And don't forget to pray before you sleep."

"Okay Mom."

Those were the last words Shirou spoke before he closed the door to the bedroom he shared with his sister, in a few moments, silence filled the flat that belonged to the Takeya; a man and a woman were cleaning the dishes in neat harmony, enjoying the presence of the other and the silence they had; the woman broke the silence with a whisper.

"Shirou met a cute girl, he was trying to help her and her mother" her voice was filled with tenderness.

The father was honestly surprised, he chuckled a little before he responded with a smile "Good for him, he doesn't have many friends."

The flat was once more noiseless save for the snores of the children and the sounds of the cars outside. They finished with the plates and prepared to go to their room, the woman tugged the sleve of her husband to make him follow her.

After they had shut down the lights, the couple sitted in the living room, staring at the city in the night, the woman took a hesitant but meaningful look at her husband before she spoke "Her last name was Tohsaka."

The man immediately turned his attention back to the woman, but he controled himself before he rushed things "...What color were her eyes?" while improbable, it was still possible that someone else could have that surname.

"Aqua"

"..." The man clenched his hand, there was no doubt now, she was one of them.

The woman's face delated her worry that she shared with her husband "She's a member of those Tohsaka, isn't she?" her tone was not cracking, but he could hear her fear.

The line of Tohsaka, one of the three founders of the Heaven's Feel, a magus family whose linage was traceable back to the first Christians of Japan, making them the most aligned of the three families with the Catholic Church itself, but more importantly for them, they were the Second Owners of Fuyuki.

"Our family has never been in conflict with them" the man mused outloud the knowledge he had in hopes of calming his wife "...but we haven't made deals with each other since the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate."

Such was the truth, at some point of history, the Tohsaka and the Takeya had been in the same boat, being families that followed the Church in a time of persecution, however such bond was lost long ago.

"...What about Shirou? Will he be in danger?" The authority of the Second Owner over the land was one that any magus that settled there, no matter how temporary, would need the permission of the Tohsaka to stay in their territory, not asking for that grace was an offense that called for retaliation.

The man stood in silence, thinking of his next course of action: if he did what he was contemplating, there was no going back for him or his family; if he didn't, he risked being exposed and being expulsed from the city. The man stood in the chair, his fingers beating against each other until he made his choice.

"I think it's time for us to stand in the light again."

Before his wife could speak, he made a gesture with his hand to allow himself to continue "if Shirou can be friends with a member of their family, it will be a good start." the look on the woman, while less worried, still held fear.

She feared for her family, normalicy, her... no, their lives "What about us, your books and your...?" the woman couldn't speak anymore as her husband began to kiss her with the same emotions she had. Eventually, the couple broke off.

"I will try to contact the head of the Tohsaka to recieve an audience, if we are lucky, they might be in need of allies." the man sported a small smile, filled with understanding; the woman looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

"Tomorrow I will awaken his circuits, I will start to train him in the weekend" he took her in his arms and held her, enjoying the company of each other as they began to move to uncharted territory "It will be fine... the Tohsaka might be nobles but they are not ruthless like the others."

After a while, the married couple borke the hug and prepared to go to sleep, the man however looked around the flat to find a place he knew, once he was there, he turned on the lights of the small room.

The man looked over his library, filled with boxes, books, a desktop and even a computer and searched for a box in the bottom, hidden by the desktop; once he got the box out, he opened it to find that what he seeked.

It was a wooden chest, sturdy yet light to lift, small enough to fit in a backpack; after a short encantation and a brief light, the chest's lock opened to reveal its contents, books, but unlike the others these ones had hard covers and seemed to be far older than the other books he had.

Amongst the five books. he took one in particular, of brown cover with a small cross patern in its borders and opened it to find what he sought.

Hidden inside the book was a flask that glowed with a tiny blue light, his parents had passed it to him in hopes that he would never have to use it.

But now, his son would need it the most if he were to survive the chaos that was the world of the magus.

* * *

Kariya struggled to find rest in the abandoned apartment he had found himself in, his body was already showing signs that he might not live beyond the month; no, after so many experiences around the world and his fight with Tokiomi, he could assess that his condition was critically terminal, a few days more and his body would give in.

He gritted his teeth as he withstood the pain his body was feeling, the parasites inside of him were more restless than before, probably in hopes of eating him once he died. He needed more time.

"...Sakura..." The white haired man wispered as his mind replayed the _things_ that Zouken had done to her in order to make her an heir of the already expent Matou bloodline. Kariya turned his head and looked at the moon in hopes of finding comfort in the sight.

Memories passed though his mind, his journeys, his experiences, his love for Aoi, and in turn, he being an honorary uncle to her children.

Before he drifted away to sleep, he heard footsteeps coming closer to the place he was; Kariya was inmediately on guard.

While the lot was indeed abandoned as far as he could tell, that might not had stopped other people to enter here like he did, his mind was now trying to guess the possible identity of the intruder.

He prepared himself for the worst. If it were anyone that tried to harm him, he would sic on them his insects, as gruesome as it that might be, that would serve to at least satisfy his parasites for a while.

The steps grew closer, Kariya was against a wall in what would have been the living room of the flat in which he was, giving him a vision of whoever entered. His blood began to leave his face as the identity of the visitor was revealed.

"Tokiomi?" surprise was all that he could feel at the sight.

The red magus had a neutral expression on his face as he looked at the man in front of him, his crest was not active as far as he could tell, but what puzzled Kariya was that he had not made any attempt to kill him.

Kariya raised his voice at the magus as much as his body allowed him "What do you want, Tokiomi!?" The pain of his body was reminding him of his previous battle and of Sakura's torture "Isn't it enough with what had you done already?!" The man couldn't keep his anger from showing.

The visage of the man darkened before he gave his answer_ "..._I was mistaken"

"...?"

Kariya never expected those words to come out of Tokiomi, for that he didn't interrupted him "I naively believed that Zouken might prove a good future to my daugther; I now understand why would you grow to...hate him."

Kariya allowed a small sigh to escape his mouth, his face was no longer contorned in anger, but he still kept himself on guard. The Tohsaka elder broke again the silence.

"How did you tend your wounds Kariya?" his tone returned to the neutral one he used before Kariya's outburst.

The Matou was not surprised by the question, the last time they had met, Tokiomi had almost killed him "I didn't..." however, his memories beyond his immolation were a mess.

"I don't know" he tried to remember anything he saw in the intervals he had between conciousness and sleep "...I just remember seeing a..."

Priest? He really couldn't distinguish anything from the man that was particulary special, save for his attire... and a small cross he had "...Yes...It was a priest."

He didn't knew if it was a trick of the light or truly his reaction, but Kariya swore he saw Tokiomi frowning for a moment, even griting his teeth before recovering his composture.

"I see... regardless of circunstances, this is a fortunate event."

The eyes of Kariya, while softened, were still following him to see any move he could do, as much as he understood and regreted what had happened, he still allowed that to happen to Sakura; Tokiomi was still a magus, he had yet to earn his trust.

Tokiomi searched his suit and found what he needed, Kariya couldn't see it well but it seemed to be a paper of sorts, the master of Archer passed the rolled paper to him so that he could examinate it.

His eyes widened when he realised what he had in his hands.

"_Is this a...?"_

* * *

"_Self-Geas scroll?"_

With astonishment and dread, Kayneth Archibald looked at the paper in his hands before turning his gaze again at the man near his wife who, fortunately, had no harm in her body. Kiritsugu had his Calico aimed at her head, any false move would trigger his response.

Kayneth assesed his situation with growing fear: he had failed to prevent the masters of Saber and Archer from reclaiming their Command Spells from the Church representative, even worse, when he went to the church, another priest was already there, looking at any action of his and stopping him from killing the elder.

His wife Sola-Ui had been kidnapped and captured, with only an empty syrenge left behind; his Servant, Diarmuid, was facing the King of Britain, Arthur, in a duel with such a focus that a stray thought would mean the death of any of the two.

He was alone with the Magus Killer and with his circuits burned, he was completely at his mercy, and his only route of salvation was through the use of a Self-Geas scroll, which was an artifact known to be bound to the crest of the signers, effectively binding them beyond death.

"_Can't things be worse anymore?" _His thoughts were now centered in the contract in front of him, reading the paper that he was given.

_Binding spell. _

_Affected party: Kiritsugu Emiya_

_The house of Emiya orders the following:_

_The pledge is to be obeyed by the Affected party upon fulfillment of the conditions described herein._

_Pledge: Kiritsugu, son of Norikata and fifth head of the house of Emiya is forbidden from harming or attempting to harm Kayneth El-Melliol Archibald and Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, guaranting thier protection for the remainder of the war._

_Conditions:..._

His eyes widened as he read the last part of the written sentences, his last conditions were something beyond outrageous, this demand was something that no noble would stand for and would laugh at or kill whoever made such a humilliating demand.

That was the reality in the Clocktower, this was the Holy Grail War.

"_In theory, the contract of the Geas is something that binds the soul of those that sign it, even beyond death, so long as their crest exist; if I accept now I...we shall be safe, but my battle... the grail... the pride of the Archibald family, he's asking me to toss them away?"_

The sound of a bullet being loaded made the master of Lancer snap out of his thoughts, the face of the master of Saber had a subtle message of finality that told him enough: his time had run out, he had to choose; he felt as his tears feel to his hand, born out of and the sheer humilliation and despair of the situation he was inmersed.

Kayneth looked one more time at the face of his sleeping wife, trying to find the strength to do what he had in mind.

"_Sola-Ui"_

* * *

Kariya read once more the contract trying to find anything amiss in it.

The terms and demands themselves were ambiguous enough to make him read them again, if anything, they seemed to be the same, save for a play on the words. Normally, contracts required enough specifications in their content to prevent any attempt to find a loophole that could render it useless.

The words used in this Geas scroll were anything but detailed, their simplicity was something that encouraged various interpretations. This would be a trap for anyone who had no knowledge of what the Geas would do to anyone who dared to break their oaths.

_Pledge: Tokiomi Tohsaka, head of the house of Tohsaka, vows to aid Sakura Matou from her condition._

_Conditions: Kariya Matou is obliged to save Sakura Matou from her current state. _

Kariya was already in a trap nonetheless, he didn't had to guess that Zouken might try to use his body once he died as a vessel or food for himself or his familiars, if not that he was already strapped with a proverbial bomb in his head. He was not a fool to not know that Zouken would have done something to the insects inside of him to kill him in the spot should he attempt to rebel against him.

But if he was to do this, he needed a guarantee.

Kariya allowed an insect to come out from his arm to the surprise of the red magus, before he could say anything, Kariya motioned his hand to stop him and directed the bug towards the wall, he then turned his gaze towards Tokiomi, the silent question being asked, his answer would be his next action.

Tokiomi understood the gesture and, in less than a second, where there was once an insect, a black mark was now in the wall, the faint smell of the burned animal reached to both.

Kariya smiled as much as his paralyzed face allowed him, he made his choice.

* * *

The Servant of the lance felt his body being chained by an overwhelming force, his arms and legs felt heavier than ever before, dropping his spear to the ground as he could barely keep his body from falling; confusion filled him and, as he could see, his oponent and her aid at his condition, before he could think of a reason, it was told to him.

"The demands are that your Servant and their Masters are to pledge their allegiance to the house of Emiya until the end of the war; the conditions have been fulfilled."

Saber and Lancer turned to look at the man that spoke, Kiritsugu was accompained by the former Master of Lancer who craddled his wife in his weak arms. The two Servants couldn't beak from their trance as they tried to acknowledge what had just happened.

Before anyone present could say a word, the Magus Killer lifted his arm and made a sign with his hand to a part of the building, moments afterwards, footsteeps were heard as a woman with short black hair came closer to them, ignoring the questioning gaze from the woman in white and the Servants.

"Maiya, escort the Archibalds to their hideout, I'll contact you once I arrive at the other safehouse."

"Understood" The tone of the woman carried little emotion, however she kept her eyes on the lord and his wife with a gaze that seemed almost hostile; Maiya lifted her look from the Masters and left again towards the building.

The Magus Killer turned his eyes towards the master of Lancer again "Archibald, it will be better if you handle any weapon you have left" his tone held no emotion again.

These words snapped Kayneth from his stupor as he looked at Kiritsugu again, unlike before, pride had left his face, leaving behind only a look of resented resignation at the requests of the Magus Killer; Kayneth searched his robes and found his last weapon and resource, a pistol, which he handed over to Kiritsugu.

Before he took the gun, a spear stood on the way of his hand.

"Have you no honour?" Diarmund had his face contorned by rage, his grip on his lance was firm and steady. "Don't you know the meaning of shame or honour!?"

All of the attention of the present was now turned to the shacking Servant, his infurated voice was something that resonated through the ruined edification. Kayneth turned away from his Servant in shame, after all he had done to him, all of the insults and degradations, he still carried his chivalry.

Kiritsugu tried to control the anger that was starting to build up inside of him at the acusations.

He had tried and had mostly kept himself cool and unemotional, focusing his energy at the plans and decisions at hand, but the words of Ruler had been resonating ever since that day, the weight of her words always haunting him.

"Someone like you who has no honour and would spit on the good of others..."

After all the sacrifices he made, after so much death, so much destruction and so many innocents killed in the crossfire, it was all for nothing.

"...someone who wouldn't know anything about the justice of this world..."

The life of his mentor, the sacrifice of his wife, the future of his daugther...all he ever valued in his life, sacrificed for an artifact that would grant him his miracle, his dream.

All of that ...for a lie.

"Answer me Master of Saber, what kind of wretched wish could have a monster to go so far?!"

Kiritsugu was about to speak to the Servant, but someone else spoke before him.

"...Lancer...that's enough."

Kayneth still had his head down, reflecting on the words he could say to his Servant; shame and regret kept him from finding the right words to Diarmund.

The Servant of the lance had stopped and was now looking at the Lord with a puzzled expression, his Master had never spoke to him with such a tone "...Master?" The Master looked up again and gave one last look at the Servant before turning his look down again, saying the only words he could find appropiate.

"...I'm sorry..."

With those words, Kayneth gave his pistol to Kiritsugu and made his way to the car that Maiya had parked in front of them. After getting inside him and his wife, Maiya began to drive away, leaving the Servants alone with Kiritsugu and Irisviel.

The Servant of the sword broke the silence, her voice still graceful, yet strong "Kiritsugu, answer me, why do you want the grail?" while her tone was not as rageful as Lancer's, she still held a degree of anger at her Master.

The Master of Saber turned to his Servant, the young girl who chose to be King, the attention of the lance wielder was focused on both of them.

"I once listened to Irisviel words hoping that our aims were equal, but after all you have shown me, I cannot trust my blade to your wish." her tone held the authority of the once and future King of Britain; Kiritsugu allowed his hair to cover his gaze as he sought out words to speak.

"...Knights like you... can't help the world, and that's because you don't realise what you really are."

The attention of everyone was in the black Master, who continued "Caught up in your own delusions, you don't understand what you really are" the white haired woman looked at her husband with worry in her eyes.

"What is there not to understand?" the blonde swordwoman spoke at her Master with an even tone "A knight is oathed to protect the weak and to serve his lord, to always be righteous to eyes of God."

"Even if that means killing in the name of your lord?" the two Servants flinched at the accusation, memories of their life giving them the answer the Magus Killer asked "Knights believe that there is honor to be found in the fighting forms only they practice, thinking that such a foolish thing is even admirable."

"It's not a delusion, there must always be rules in combat to be followed" Saber continued to defend her position "if we indulge to any form of combat without any sort of code, the only thing that we would cause is nothing more than death and misery."

"Wasn't that what you already caused?" the words of her Master made her silent, cursing him for using her legend against her in such a way "It doesn't matter what way or form of fighting you are using, at the end there is no escape to the fact that you are a murderer."

For once, the face of the Magus Killer hardened as he turned his face completely to his Servant "Its because of people like you who makes the act of killing an honorable way that many people were caught in the trap that was glory and fell in the hell that is war" his tone was growing with each word, each sentence weighting on the knights "Did any of your men who died met any glory as he was dying? Did the battlefield brought them any honour or just despair?"

"Kiritsugu"

Kiritsugu turned to his wife and his eyes widened at what he saw. Fear, she was afraid, afraid of him, of what he was saying, at what he was impling. He took a breath before he turned to the white car behind him.

"...Let's go Iri, I will be driving; Lancer, stay in astral form while we are in the hideout."

"...Understood." The strained voice of Lancer was spoken as he returned to the astral dimension.

"...Kiritsugu...you wanted to be...a hero of justice, isn't it?"

The man looked back at the form of Saber, she stood still in her place, her eyes fixated on her Master, her tone softer than before.

"That rage at the pain of the helpless and your anger at the despair of those who have fallen, those are traits that only someone who once sought righteousness has" she spoke with sadness and empathy at her Master, her own experiences still close in her mind.

"I don't know what jaded you so in your life, but I know that you, at some point, you wanted to be a hero Kiritsugu." the black Master made no sound and turned his back at the Servant, but before his hand reached the handle of the door, he gave her an answer.

"I will find a way to end the bloodshed, with or without the Grail."

With those words, Saber began to walk to the car; unbeknownst to most of gathered, there was a prying eye. A small bird of crystal-like body that once it saw them leaving shattered wtihout leaving trace of its existence.

Only Kiritsugu knew who it was that saw them, and he would need to met him soon enough.

* * *

"I have to admit that I didn't expect that"

At the top of a bridge, two figures could be seen, one tall and one small, the small one was looking at the large one, but the other looked towards another place, further in the south.

"What are you talking about Rider?" the statement had gotten Waver Velvet, Master of Rider out of his thoughts and half-sleep state he was.

"That grim Master was able to get the help of another one just using a paper and some words..." his eyes were following the forms of the two servants as they went beyond his sight "...and if my gut is right, he might not be working alone."

To those words, the young Master nearly jumped of the bridge, saved by the hand of his Servant.

"W-wait, we are talking about thr-ree masters working together?" His tone was already beyond nervous, how couldn't he be terrified, he was already the most inexperienced of the Masters of this war, his Servant barely obeyed him, and if he was right "Th-hat is-we wouldn't have a chance."

The king of Conquerors made no attempt to soften the blow "Nope, not at all" however he grinned at the chance that seemed to open to them, acknowledging the potential in it "Which is why we are entering their alliance."

For a moment, the traffic continued with its usual noise: cars driving, people walking before a sound broke the disonant harmony.

"WHAT!"

* * *

"_Everything is falling in its place" _Tokiomi began to walk back to his car with a satisifed smile on his face, for all that mattered, things would be looking up to the red magus.

The next morning would crucial to finish the arrangements for the operation that they had planned.

Kariya would play a vital role in this, for that he had something prepared for this, akin to the gift he gave to Rin before she left the mansion. The addition of the Servant of the lance was most fortunate as it gave them more chances of getting what they needed from the household of Makiri.

He had the chance to see the dawn from the park of Fuyuki, the sight was beautiful, it tranced the Tohsaka for a small moment before he continued his journey, he stopped however when he felt something.

Another magus was coming, and it was one he had never met.

His stance changed and he readied himself in case that an assassination was attempted at him, his eyes searching for the other user of magic; he didn't expected the source to come at him slowly and, if he was sensing it right, using the park's route.

Eventually he saw a man coming to him, he was tall and had chestnut hair, his posture didn't spoke of hostility towards him, but his amber eyes were focused on him. Once he was a few steps away from him, the man made a bow to the red magus in sign of greeting.

No word was spoken and the man gave him a letter to Tokiomi, who analized the paper he was given before he opened it, surprise filled him as he read the contents that were written, specially as he read the last name of the sender.

Once again, a smile adorned the face of Tokiomi, after looking at the face of the other magus, he took a pen and signed the form that was presented to him. The man's face seemed to lighten up after he finished the signing.

After returning him the letter, the man gave a bow and left, Tokiomi returned to his walk with more satisfaction than before, after all, a new ally was always welcomed.

* * *

Kiritsugu was staring at the sleeping form of his wife and pushed away a lock of hair that was in her face, caressing her cheek as he recounted the previous events until now.

After returning to the hideout, Kiritsugu created a bounded field to protect themselves of prying eyes, as well as preventing any noise they could make of being heard but most importantly, to know if the familiars of the vermin that was Zouken Matou were spying on him.

He also drew with Irisviel and Saber an special arrange to sustain his wife, he could tell that her conditions were failing, as much as she tried to hide it she had already began to act with less energy and her breathing in her sleep was anything but healthy; she wouldn't last for much longer in the war.

Soon the Lesser Grail would trigger the Greater Grail and the vessel would appear; he needed more time, at least until tomorrow, to do what he sought to do. He was about to leave before a hand took his.

"Kiritsugu, what is wrong?"

The eyes of his wife were half open, her form tired; he stood close to his wife as she stood up.

"Iri?" any other word that Kiritsugu had thought was broken by the caress of her hand, as weak as it felt, it was still soothing for him.

"I know you my dear, something is bothering you" she continued her gesture as her eyes opened up more "...why can't you tell me?"

The man trembled as the knowledge of what would happen began to eat him; "...Iri..." he took her in his arms as all the weight he carried began to erode him, his wife returned the action and held him in her arms.

"Do you remember Iri?... what you told me before everything started?" he once told her to run away, the three of them, far away from the sight of the Einzbern and live a normal life.

"...Yes, yes I do" she answered him that he wouldn't be able to live with himself, that should they do that he would eventually kill himself for being selfish.

"Kiritsugu, please promise me..." she passed her hands though his hair, trying to help her husband any way she could "...promise me that you will try to smile once this is over."

He couldn't tell her, he wouldn't allow her to die in despair, he would find a way to end this. Nobody else would have to suffer because of him. He gave Iri a small smile.

"I will."

With those words, Kiritsugu gave a chaste kiss to his wife as he aided her stand up. A moment afterwards, the Servant of the sword entered the storehouse of the residence they were in.

"Kiritsugu, there is an envoy of the Tohsaka, they request an alliance."

With the warning registred, the Magus Killer returned to his usual demeanor to continue with his plans. He gave a quick look at his wife, who noded at him and stood on her own.

Time for battle.

"Understood."

* * *

Okay, with this, the story is going to start shaping up.

The Takeya and team Macedon now want allies to find protection.

The details of the alliance of Tokiomi and the Takeya is something that will be revealed much later, it must be said however that an even term alliance.

Kariya and Tokiomi are now allies, truly that's a twist.

Lastly, Kayneth is now a vassal of Kiritsugu, albeit a temporal one; if you know about the medieval system of vassals and lords, then you can understand how frustrating and humilliating would be for an Archibald to become a vassal of a mercenary, and an Asiatic one to boot.

Before anyone says anything, the Clocktower nobles are mostly a bunch of arrogant pricks whose ways of thought are still stuck in the Victorian age, hence why they tend to degradate magi that are not from Europe, are of younger generations or try to see beyond their rigorous system.

Potential plot point here.

I am deeply sorry if the pacing still feels slugish, but next chapter is going to be a bit more intense.

Anyway, as always, read and review, I'm also doing a rework on my other story.

Till next time.


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